Picture a College Football Playoff without Alabama—a rare sight considering the Crimson Tide’s eight appearances between 2014 and 2023, where they claimed three championships under Nick Saban. However, if quarterback Jalen Milroe continues to perform as he did against Tennessee, Alabama might be watching the playoffs from a big screen in Tuscaloosa.
Currently sitting at 5-2, the Tide still has games against Missouri, LSU (away), Mercer, Oklahoma (away), and Auburn. Should Milroe replicate his performance against Tennessee—completing 25 of 45 passes for one touchdown and two interceptions, along with 14 rushes for only 11 yards—Alabama could be in trouble, particularly against Missouri and LSU. A loss in either matchup could be enough to eliminate them from the College Football Playoff conversation.
Is Jalen Milroe healthy?
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer addressed the question of Jalen Milroe’s recent struggles, ruling out any injury as a factor. As DeBoer told BamaOnLine, Milroe’s performance issues aren’t health-related:
“At this point in the year, I don’t think there’s many guys who play a lot of snaps who don’t have something and (are) just working through it,” DeBoer said. “But he’s more than capable. As he goes through the week, he’s just ready to play on Saturday. There’s nothing that’s going to hold him back from helping us get a win. I’m confident of that.”
With no injury excuse in play, the spotlight falls directly on Milroe’s execution and the opposition he’s faced. Tennessee’s defense has proven to be one of the tougher units nationwide, making any offensive progress difficult. However, the recent stats are concerning. Over the past two games, Milroe completed 41 of 68 passes for 448 yards, with two touchdowns against four interceptions. In his last four outings, he’s thrown six picks—matching his total from all of 2023.
His decision-making has also been questionable, with one end-zone interception against Tennessee described as “terrible” by ABC announcer Sean McDonough. That throw, risky given the defender’s position and the receiver’s inability to get open, came on second down from the three-yard line, costing Alabama a chance to silence Tennessee’s fans.
The question now is how Milroe will respond. Will the Tennessee loss affect his confidence at home against Missouri, or on the road against LSU? His ability to rebound will be crucial to Alabama’s hopes of remaining in the College Football Playoff conversation.
Milroe took the blame, and that’s good
Milroe took full responsibility for his performance, saying, “I’ve gotta take full ownership of that. When it comes to communication up front, communication to the guys around, I’ve gotta do better on my end, playing with better detail. Communication up front and allowing our guys to line up properly with the communication. So that’s something that going back, we’re just gonna build on and get better at and something that I acknowledge as we were playing. So it’s all about building, it’s all about rebuilding and also where we were not at our best today.”
The question is whether this self-assessment will spark a turnaround for Alabama. Milroe will need to perform more like he did against Georgia, where he completed 27 of 33 passes for 374 yards and two touchdowns. With Alabama lacking depth at receiver and a consistent ground game, their path to the College Football Playoff heavily depends on Milroe’s ability to deliver consistently dynamic performances.
